


The Star Thief

by cirrus (themorninglark)



Series: rareprompts [26]
Category: Free!
Genre: Adventures, Camping, Future Fic, Gen, Nagisa POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-15 00:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4586421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themorninglark/pseuds/cirrus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They set out bright and early, dewdrops in the mist and on the tips of their noses. Rei sniffles. Nagisa laughs. Rin, scouting further up the path, shades his eyes with his hand and squints into the light.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Star Thief

**Author's Note:**

  * For [proshy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/proshy/gifts).



> For Poka, who asked for NagiReiRin being doofs. This one really just wrote itself ♥ please enjoy!

_Don't look out the window._

_Why?_

_Because the sun's going down. And when it's gone, you'll have to go, too._

_Well, really -_

_Say, what if we just take the window away?_

 

* * *

 

And he does, because he is made of shooting stars and wishes that light up the sky, because he makes the impossible happen and he takes Nagisa's breath away. He always has.

Caught in the inexorable rush of their riptide, Rei follows, and because he is there to catch him, Nagisa knows he can lose himself wholeheartedly.

So like the midday, Nagisa looks ahead to the blinding dawn, the moon, ever present, at his back; he is light on his feet as they dance on sunbeams and cirrus clouds, and he is a zephyr, stirring blades of grass in his wake.

They set out bright and early, dewdrops in the mist and on the tips of their noses. Rei sniffles. Nagisa laughs. Rin, scouting further up the path, shades his eyes with his hand and squints into the light.

 

* * *

 

"Why do we all have to share _one_ tent?"

"That's what makes it _fun_ , Rei-chan."

"That's - what makes it - _oof_ \- "

The canvas flaps in the wind, drops on top of Rei and knocks him down again. He trips on a peg, landing on his back in the damp earth.

"That," he says, crawling upright with an indignant _hmph_ , "is what makes this _enormous_ tent a nightmare to set up."

Rin returns with an armful of firewood, leaves crunching beneath his boots as he makes his way across the clearing.

"What, you're still not done with this?"

"Rin-chan, you're back! Rei-chan needs some - "

" _No_ , I am eminently capable of pitching a tent myself, thank you."

Nagisa and Rin exchange a look, and Nagisa shrugs, grinning.

"Of course you are, Rei. You're doing great," says Rin, dropping to his knees to help Nagisa finish with the knot in his hands, and as their fingers twine round the rope, Nagisa sees a smile tugging on the corner of Rin's lips that's only half exasperated.

 

* * *

 

In the end, they manage to get their tent up before the sun goes down, but Rei, who's been intent at getting his corners perfectly crisp and optimally positioned given the geography of their immediate surrounds, now has a pinking burn on the left side of his face because he'd neglected to take adequate precautions against the fierce summer heat.

Nagisa has nothing for him but a comforting pat on the shoulder. Rin, better-prepared, whips out both sunblock and aloe vera, which Rei accepts gratefully.

" _How_ do you have this stuff, Rin-chan?" Nagisa asks, amazed, as he paws through Rin's impressively stocked first-aid kit.

"Hey. Don't touch unless you have a medical emergency."

Rin swats Nagisa's inquisitive hand away. He sits himself down on a dry patch of yellowed grass, and ties up his hair.

"I burn, too," he admits, grudgingly. "When you have fair skin, life sucks in Australia."

Nagisa scoots closer, leans his head gently on Rin's shoulder.

"But you're going back anyway, Rin-chan," he says.

"Yeah," says Rin. "I am."

Rei snaps the cap back on to the aloe vera gel, and tosses it back to Rin, who catches it easily out of the air. He doesn't add anything, but Nagisa sees their eyes meet in understanding.

Rin would go anywhere he wanted, even if it burnt him; Rei, too, aspires for brighter things.

And Nagisa can only hope to steal stars, stud their skies with them and shine in a constellation he hopes they'll remember.

 

* * *

 

"…I should have guessed this would happen."

" _How_ \- in what world does a normal person come camping and only bring _this_ to eat - "

"Rin-san, Nagisa-kun is not a normal person."

"It's really delicious! Try some, Rin-chan!"

"No _thanks_ , I'd rather eat Rei's damn rabbit food."

"This rabbit food is not only beautiful, it is nutritionally balanced and high in fibre and a carefully selected assortment of vitamins! Here, Rin-san, you should have some of this spinach - "

"Let me die in peace with my grilled meat, thanks, that's got iron enough."

"I guess we can't share any of the food we brought along, after all…"

"Nagisa-kun, don't say that like you're _sad_ about it, I know you're happy eating all the Iwatobi cream bread yourself!"

"Heh. You caught me."

 

* * *

 

When night falls, Nagisa wraps himself tightly in his huge, cottony blanket so that only his head peeks out, and shuffles out of their tent. Rei and Rin are sitting by their fire, gazing into the sky.

Rin turns around. "You look ridiculous."

Nagisa flashes him a peace sign, and grins.

"Look, Nagisa-kun," says Rei, his voice quiet as he points upwards. "The stars…"

Nagisa treads softly between the flickering shadows, steps where the flames light the ground, to find his place beside Rei. He looks up.

"They're beautiful, Rei-chan," he whispers, awed.

And they are. Etched into the midnight blue, they glow a pale ethereal white; it's easy to forget they're light years away when they're so brilliant for them, right here, right now.

Rin throws himself down on his back, lacing his hands behind his head as he lets out a small, content sigh. "Ahh, I feel sorry for Makoto and Haru, they won't get to see a sight like this in Tokyo…"

"Even if they don't, though," says Rei, smiling, "it's the same stars, watching over all of us."

A hush falls upon them.

Nagisa thinks of absent friends, looks to his side, and thinks of present ones; thinks, he is blessed. He turns his gaze back skywards to the glittering horizon of tomorrow.

"The view really is better when you take the window away," he breathes.

"Damn right it is," says Rin.

 

* * *

 

And later, when they fall asleep curled up in the steady breathing of each other's warmth, Nagisa tries to keep his eyes open for as long as possible.

Morning will come, before they know it. They'll pack up, and they'll head back downhill, and the summer will pass, and Rin and Rei will head back to their places in the sun where they belong.

But for now - for as long as he keeps them within sight -

Nagisa can pluck these stars from the sky, stealthy, with a finger to his lips; he can keep them in his pocket, and when he gets home, he'll stitch them into the fabric of his heart and keep them there.

"I love you," he whispers, when he knows they're both asleep. "Rin-chan. Rei-chan."

There's a stirring in the blankets. Perhaps one of them heard him in their dreams.

He rolls over, hugs his knees to his chest, and smiles to himself as he lets his eyelids flutter shut.

 


End file.
